CORDOBA, Spain — The urge to succeed, conquer, or vanquish the enemy is deeply embedded in our makeup. History is replete with examples where conquerors would put to sword the vanquished, and quite a few celebrated their victories by erecting towers of human heads and skulls.
Almost every part of this Earth has witnessed ebb and flow of victories and defeats. The telltale signs of many of such upheavals remain buried deep in the earth waiting for the pick and shovel of an archaeologist or the analytical mind of an anthropologist to connect the dots.
While traveling through Morocco, Portugal, and Spain I witnessed the interaction and intermingling of various religious cultures that evolved in Europe spanning 2,000 years. All of them have left indelible signs of their presence.
Five major cultures dominated Spain and Portugal — the Iberian Peninsula or Indulusia — at different times: the Romans, Visigoths, Christians, Muslims, and again the Christians.
In 710 Umayyad forces under the command of Tariq bin Zayad crossed the straits of Gibraltar from the North African coast and defeated the ruling Visigoth King Roderic of Spain. That opened the way for Muslim expansion into the Iberian Peninsula.
Incidentally, the name Gibraltar is the Spanish version of Jabal Tariq, meaning the Mountain of Tariq.
The Muslims ruled the peninsula for 800 years until their gradual loss of control and the rise of the Christiandoms.
The Moors created a unique culture that was the combination of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. For most of their 800-year rule the region thrived.
The advances in astronomy, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and philosophy were monumental. They introduced paper, musical instruments, and crops during their rule. Education was universal, and at the height of their power, Indulusia had 17 universities compared to only two in Europe.
Historians have wondered about the genesis of such a unique civilization. It happened because Moors created an inclusive and pluralistic society where religion was important but did not dictate public policy.
Three main religions worked hand in hand in a spirit of acceptance, and as a result, they ushered in an era of unprecedented prosperity and scientific advances.
Cordoba, a city in the heart of Spain, was the most modern city in Europe at the time. It boggles the mind that while in Europe paved streets and raised sidewalks for pedestrians were a rarity, it was commonplace in Moorish Spain. Imagine 10 miles of streets illuminated at night with oil lamps. Also imagine 900 public baths in the city. It is said that a poor citizen would rather go without bread than soap.
The Moors also introduced oranges, lemons, peaches, apricots, figs, sugar cane, cotton, silk, and rice as well as ginger, pomegranate, and saffron in the territories. These remain some of the main crops of Spain and Portugal today.
It was that unique pluralistic society that produced two of the greatest philosophers and physicians of that era: Rabbi Moses bin Maimun (Maimonides) and Muhammad ibn Ahmad Ibn Rushd (Averroes), whose intellectual impact is still felt centuries after their deaths.
A visit to the Great Mosque of Cordoba underscores much of what I observed in Spain and Portugal. Like the palace of Alhambra in Grenada, the mosque is an architectural marvel. Built in the early 8th century, its scarlet and gold roof is supported by 1,000 columns of marble, jasper, and porphyry.
In 1238 King Ferdinand of Castile conquered Cordoba and the mosque was turned into a cathedral by the installation of the main altar and tens of small chapels. Now it is called Mosque-Cathedral. The original mosque architecture, however, has been preserved. Today it is a functional church but not a mosque.
By 1492 all the Moor-controlled areas had been wrestled back by Christian kings. Muslims and Jews were given the choice of either converting to Catholicism or leaving the country. Hundreds and thousands of Jews and Muslims took refuge in Morocco across the Straits of Gibraltar. Countless others were burned at stake for refusing to convert.
No other mosque invokes such a deep emotions in most Muslims than the one in Cordoba. Like the Greeks who still mourn the loss of Istanbul to the Turks in 1453, the loss of Indulusia still evokes deep emotions among many Muslims.
In 1932 Pakistani poet-philosopher Muhammad Iqbal visited the mosque as a pilgrim and wrote a moving poem in Urdu after his visit. It is a poem of loss and lament but also a reminder that a beautiful symbol of unity and inclusiveness is lost forever.
S. Amjad Hussain is an emeritus professor of surgery and humanities at the University of Toledo. His column appears every other week in The Blade. Contact him at: aghaji@bex.net.
First Published April 10, 2019, 4:00 a.m.
